Simply put, if you are going to succeed as a freelance business owner, you must have a bulletproof marketing plan. You may not know where to start or what to include, but in time you will figure all this out. What is most important is that you have some sort of plan in place from day one.
Here are five challenges of creating a freelance writing marketing plan.
Knowing Where to Start
While this is the biggest challenge you will face, it is nothing that should hold you down for too long. Remember, starting somewhere is better than not starting at all. Take the time to get your ideas down on paper and begin to formulate them into a plan.
Knowing What Works and What Doesn’t
It is one thing to put together a dynamite marketing plan. It is another thing entirely to include techniques that will actually help you make more sales.
As you get started, there is no way of knowing what will and will not work for you and your new business. However, things will clear up with each passing day.
Knowing When to Make Tweaks
This goes along with #2 above. Let’s put it this way: the marketing plan that you rely on your first day in business is not going to be the same after a few months pass by. You should always be tweaking your plan, looking for new ways to better your approach.
Tip: find out which methods work best for you and focus on these for the time being.
Knowing How to Vary Your Marketing Techniques
It is easy to fall into the trap of concentrating on one way of marketing your services, such as cold emails. Unfortunately, if you do this you could be missing out on something that will provide better results. Not to mention the fact that you never know when a particular technique could dry up.
Knowing How To Tracking Your ROI
With your marketing plan, the only thing that really matters is your return on investment (ROI). In other words, you need to carefully track what is and is not working. Not only do you need to know how much money you are spending on particular marketing efforts, but you should also put a strong emphasis on tracking your time.
Despite the fact that these challenges may feel overwhelming, you will soon realize that the most difficult step is the first one. Once you are fully immersed in your marketing plan and willing to take on anything that comes your way, it is much easier to achieve success.
Don’t let these challenges stop you dead in your tracks. Instead, deal with each one head on until you find a solution. Once you have a marketing plan that you can trust and rely on, you will find it much easier to generate regular leads and close more sales.
Now to You
What challenges have you had with your marketing plan? What resources or process do you use to create one?
